Articles

Health, Insurance, Security

Article / Passportable

Can Airlines Legally Force You to Wear a Mask?

Their airline, their rules. If you don't like the rules, get your own plane. That's what it boils down to. Catharine Hamm of the Los Angeles Times looked into the legality of airlines…

Article / Passportable

Two Top Cruise Companies Join Forces to Develop Safety Plan

Two top competitors in cruising, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, have decided to put rivalry aside and work together to create a comprehensive safety plan that will enable the entire…

Article / Passportable

Atlantic City Reopens—With No Indoor Dining and Other Big Changes

As of July 2, Atlantic City casinos are back in business after New Jersey shut them down in March due to coronavirus concerns. Of the city's nine casinos, five—Golden Nugget, Hard…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Miss Broadway? You Can Still Perform Safety Theater at the Airport

On Sunday, a family emergency required me to fly from Nantucket, Massachusetts, to New York City. As I was heading out of the secure passenger area toward baggage claim at JFK…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Alarmed by U.S. Infection Rate, Caribbean Islands Tighten Entry Restrictions

A month ago, when the Caribbean islands began laying plans for their reopening, welcoming travelers from the United States was the key concern because of the region's economic reliance…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

American Queen River Cruises to Resume This Summer—But Are They Safe?

While most of the cruise industry has suspended sailings through the summer, American Queen Steamboat Company has announced that the paddle wheels on its river cruises will be turning…

Article / Passportable

German Airports Open Covid Testing Labs That Could Serve as Models

We'd rather have a Cinnabon, but in a move that could serve as a model for air travel around the world, airports in Frankfurt and Munich have opened onsite Covid-19 testing labs. The…

Article / Passportable

TV Investigation Claims to Find Unchanged Sheets at NYC Hotels

An investigative report that aired on the syndicated TV program Inside Edition this week found that hotel rooms—including the sheets—hadn't been thoroughly cleaned at three properties…

Article / Passportable

Global Entry Enrollment Centers Soon to Reopen

Update, July 1: Shortly after announcing that enrollment centers would open on July 6, U.S. Customs and Border Protection backtracked and postponed their return until at least August…

Article / Passportable

Belize Announces Date for Tourism Reopening

Belize has set a date for welcoming back foreign tourists to that Central American nation of jungles, Mayan ruins, and Caribbean beaches (such as at Caye Caulker, pictured…

Article / Outdoor & Adventure

5 Tips for Hiking in Extreme Summer Heat

Some advice for staying safe, hydrated, and relatively comfortable when you go hiking in blistering summer heat

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

American Airlines Will Now Book Flights to Full Capacity

On Friday, June 26, the United States registered a new single-day record in coronavirus infections—more than 40,000, many of them in young people who exhibit no symptoms. Hours before,…

Article / Passportable

Denied Boarding Because of High Temperature? You Can Get a Refund

If a U.S. airline denies you boarding because you failed its temperature check, you can get a full refund for the cost of the flight. If something like that happens to you, the refund…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Tourist Industry Crash: Visitors Are Avoiding the USA for Their Own Safety

The rest of the world now sees America as a mortal danger. "At all costs, you do not want to go into a U.S. hospital without insurance," one Canadian told the Palm Springs Desert Sun.…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Hawaii Moves from Quarantine Toward Tests. But Will the Feds Approve?

The numbers tell a compelling story when it comes to Hawaii. On the winning side, the state has had just a bit over 800 coronavirus infections so far. That's the third lowest rate in…

Article / National Parks

U.S. National Parks Offering Reduced Services: A List of What's Open

America's national parks are reopening in phases, and each park has its own exclusions and limitations. We're tracking changes to available services here. 

Article / Passportable

Saudi Arabia Blocks International Pilgrims from Mecca

For the first time in modern history, Muslims from around the world will not be allowed to make the pilgrimage to Mecca this year. Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that international…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Airport Leadership Begs the US Government to Regulate Mask Usage

Much of the attention given to the issue of air travel safety in the time of Covid-19 has focused on the in-flight experience. But airports, too, are gathering places for crowds, and…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Winning Strategy to Get Vegas Gamblers to Wear Face Masks

The reopening of casinos in Las Vegas earlier this month was a gamble amid the pandemic. Sadly, it now looks like that might have been a bad bet. In the nearly three weeks since Sin…

Article / Passportable

Las Vegas' New Tool for Checking Workers' Health: One Ring to Monitor Them All

Feeling lucky? Coronavirus cases are spiking in Las Vegas. The titans behind the lucrative casino-hotels there desperately want to avoid re-closing them, so the owners are trying…

Article / Passportable

Hawaii Is Arresting Tourists Who Violate Quarantine

Hawaii is not messing around. Other American states might have lax enforcement rules about public behavior during the pandemic, but the Aloha State has arrested 21 visitors this week…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Get Up-to-Date Travel Restrictions for Europe Using the EU's New Online Tool

The European Union has made it easier to keep track of travel restrictions in any of its 27 member states. A new, free-to-use, mobile-friendly web platform called Re-open EU provides…

Article / Passportable

Welcome to Cambodia! That'll Be $3,000, Please

We have a new winner for the title of World's Harshest Covid-19 Entry Requirement. Cambodia has announced that all visitors to that Southeast Asian country (famous for the Angkor Wat…

Article / Passportable

Holland America: Sorry, Canada and Hawaii, We'll Just See You in 2021

Holland America has just cleared its schedule of Hawaii and Canada cruises until 2021. Previously, the cruise line put a "pause on" (i.e., canceled) its Alaska, Europe, and East Coast…

Article / Air Travel

WATCH: An Airline Cabin Designer Explains the Systems That Clean the Air on Flights

An engineer for Airbus gave a video interview to explain how airline air circulation systems work—and to say whether he thinks the air on flights is safe.